Starting device for internal-combustion engines.



F. JOHNSTON. STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG- 14. I915- Patented May 30,1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., wAsHXNOTON, D. c.

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FLOYD JOHNSTON, OF LANES-BORO, IOWA,

ASS IGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO WALTER S.

PIATT, OF LANESBORO, IOWA, AND ONE-THIRD T CLARA W'ILSON, 0F LIDDERDALE,

IOWA.

STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed August 14, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLOYD JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Lanesboro, Carroll county, Towa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Devices for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in starting devices for motors, and the object of my improvement is to provide a simple and efiieient mechanically actuated device containing yieldable resilient elements adapted to be placed in and releasably secured in a state of potential stress adapted to crank the motor-shaft when released, by power derived from the action, of the motor itself. This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved starting device, showing portions in central longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of said device, showing it operatively connected to the crankshaft of a motor. Fig. 3 is a cross section of said device, taken on the line a-b of said Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross section, taken through the roller-clutch on the line cd in Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 is a shaft whose ends are fixedly mounted in bearings in the frame composed of offset uprights 50 connected by integral horizontal cross beams 48 and 49. The cross beam 48 is secured to the top of the cylinder casing of the motor 3, the latter having the sprocket wheel 4 secured on the forward end of its crank shaft 2. A sleeve 9 is rotatably nonslidably mounted on the left-hand part of the drum-hub 20 rotatable on' the shaft 1 within said frame, and has a longitudinal spline 10. is a collar provided with an annular groove 12 and ratchet-clutch teeth 11, and is mountedslidably non-rotatably on said sleeve 9 to slide lengthwise over the spline 10. 8 is a mating clutch member for the other member 11 mounted rotatably on said sleeve 9 and has integrally connected therewith, a cylindrical hollow housing 7 and a sprocket wheel 6. A sprocket chain 5 connects the sprocket wheels 4 and 6. Within the housing 7 are the rollers 52 Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 45,595.

adapted to coact with opposite projections 51 on the drum-hub to supply a rol1erclutch between the housing and said sleeve.

14 is a vertical arm extending from a hori zontal' rod 18 and has at its upper end a fork 13 whose bifurcations are seated in the groove 12 of the clutch-body 15. Alever 44 is medially fulcrumed on a projection from said frame 50, and has its lower end pivoted to the right hand end of the rod 18, which latter is threaded at 46 to receive an adjusting nut 47.

16 is a pinion fixedly mounted on the right hand end of the sleeve 9 abutting upon the fixed fillet 20 on the shaft 1. A gear-wheel 17 is in mesh with said pinion and is mounted upon a short shaft 21 rotatable in bearings in a pair of spaced uprights 19 projected from the lower frame bar 49, the right hand end of said shaft extending to the right of the right hand standard 19 and carrying a pinion 22.

24 is a hollow drum mounted on the hub 20 rotatable about the coaxial with the shaft 1 and having an internal gear 23 in its left hand end with which the pinion 22 is inter meshed. The right hand end of said drum is closed by means of a head 27 which has an exteriorly threaded sleeve 28 extending to the right as far as the right hand frame bar and rotatably mounted upon the shaft 1. Within said drum is a spaced pair of flat coiled springs 26 whose outer ends are secured to the inner wall of the drum and whose inner ends are secured to the hub 20 on said shaft 1. The numerals 29 and 30 denote like bodies of oblong form arranged vertically with their lower ends bifurcated to ride astride the lower frame bar 49. The upper part of the body' 29 is smoothly orificed to seat it about the threaded hub 28 of said drum, while the upper part of the other body 30 has an interiorly threaded orifice permitted to be seated upon and intermeshed with said threaded hub 28. A downwardly curved arm 31 has its lower end pivotally connected to the upper end of the body 29 and a short link 32 is pivotally connected between the upper end of the body 30 and the middle of the curved part of said arm 31. The upright part of the arm 31 has a pintle 37 received slidably within a longitudinal slot 36 in the left hand end of a bar 34 which extends to the right through anopening in a foot-board 42 and is pro- Patented May so, rare.

vided at its right hand end with a foot pedal for cranking the motor shaft 2, with the spiral springs 26 under tension, and with my releasable locking means holding the drum 24 in locked position. The releasable looking means comprises the curved arm 31 and link' 32, connected pivotally to each other andto the bodies 29 and 30. Inthe positionsof these parts shown in said Fig. 1,

the pintle 33has been moved downwardly beyond the dead center relative to the pivotal connections between said bodies and said arm and link, which looks them together to hold the body 29 in braking frictional contact with the head 27 of the drum '24, preventing rotation of the latter when the springs 26 are wound up. To start the motor 3, the pedal 41 and bar 34 are pushed to the left. This rocks the arm 31 upwardly until the pintle 33 the body 29 is shifted to the right enough to release the drum 24. V The springs 26 then react to rotate the drum, and sprocketwheel 6, through theinclosed roller-clutch in the housing 7 whereby the chain 5 rotates the motor shaft 2. In rotating, the threaded sleeve 28 carries the body to the left a certain distance relative to the adjustable stop-nut 47 on thethreaded end 46 of said rod 18. Simultaneously, the arm 31, while swinging upwardly, after its release, permits the bar 34 to be shifted to the right under the impulsion' of the stretched spring 43. The arm 38 on said bar rocks the upper end of the lever 44 to the right until the right-hand spring 40 yields enough to let said arm swing and slip under the lever-end to a position to the right thereof. The lower end of the lever 44 is thus rocked to the left with the rod 18, forked arm '14, and clutchmember 15, until the teeth thereof mate with the teeth of the other clutch-member 8.. Since the motor is in operation, and the member 8 running idly, when the members 8 and 15 are mated, the roller-clutch engages appropriately, whereby thesleeve 9, and also said gearing and said'drum are rotated reversely, to wind up the springs 26. The threaded sleeve 28 now returns the body 30 V to. the right to simultaneously move to the right, the adjustable stop-nut 47' with the {rod .18, which latter causes the clutch-members 8 and l5 to disengage. Inmoving to passes its dead center, and

the right, the body 30 rocks down the arm 31, to push the body into locking contact with said drum, the pintle 33 again passing beyond the dead center. The parts are thus placed in their initial positions automatically.

To initially set the device in an operative condition, the motor-shaft may be rotated by a hand-crank, after the clutch-member 15 has been engaged with the member 8 by manually moving the bar 34 to the right. Manual rotation of the motor-shaft then causes a winding up of the spring 26, with the concurrent locking of the drum as above described. When the pedal 41 is pushed to the left to release the drum, the swing-arm 38 passes under and to the left of the lever 44, because of the yielding of the left-hand spring 40. After this initial setting of the device, it is afterward automatically replaced in an operative condition, after each actuation in starting the motor, by the driving action of the motor itself as described. Back firing does not affect the device, be cause of the em loyment of ratchet-teeth on the clutch-mem ers 8 and 15.

Various changes may be made in the form, arrangement, dimensions or relations of the elements of my device, without departing from the protection of or the principles of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A starting device for a motor-shaft, comprising a rotary clutch-member operatively connected to said motor-shaft, a 1'0- tary body on which said clutch-member is disengageably mounted, a mating clutchmember slidably non-rotatably mounted on said rotary body, a rotatable drum, driving connections between said rotary body and drum, a supporting body for said rotary body, a main-spring connected between said drum and said rotary body, disengageable means for locking said drum while said spring is under tension, means for disengaging said locking-means, and other means connected thereto and to the second-mentioned clutch-member adapted to coact in disengaging the clutch-members automatically when said spring is released.

2. A starting device for a motor, comprising in combination with a motor-shaft, a fixed shaft, a drum-hub rotatable thereon, a sleeve rotatable on said drum-hub, sprocket-wheels on said sleeve and motorshaft a sprocket-chain connecting said sproclret-wheels, a housing integral with the sprocket-wheel on said sleeve, a roller-clutch mounted between said housing and (said drum-hub, said housing having an integral clutch-member, another sleeve rotatable on said drum-hub, a mating clutch-member slidably non-rotatably mounted on said sleeve and adapted to disengageably engage the first-mentioned clutch-member, a hollow drum fixed on said hub and rotatable on said fixed shaft and provided with an internalgear, a pinion fixed on said second-1nentioned sleeve, a short shaft having a gearwheel in mesh with said pinion and also having a pinion in mesh with said internal-gear, a spiral spring in said drum with its outer end connected to the drum and its inner end connected to the said fixed shaft, said drum having an eXteriorly-threaded sleeve hub extension fixed in one end and rotatably mounted on said fixed shaft, a body slidably mounted on said sleeve-hub, another body having an interiorly threaded orifice mounted upon and in mesh with said sleeve-hub, a downwardly-bent arm pivoted to the first body, a link pivotally connected between the bent part of said arm and the second body, means for rocking said arm, and other means operatively connected between said means and the second mentioned clutch member adapted to coaot therewith in automatically disengaging said clutch-members when said springs are wound up by the motor-shaft.

Signed at Waterloo, Iowa, this 28th day of July, 1915.

FLOYD JOHNSTON. Witnesses:

PEARL M. STANTON, G. G. KENNEDY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ii'atema, Washington, D. G. 

